Lesson

Ke Kumu Welo a me Ka Loli ʻAna: Heredity and Evolution

Students will explore the present by examining the past through heredity, relationships, and biological evolution using the Kumulipo as an engagement piece. Introducing this concept will show students that all things in the universe are ultimately connected (relationships) and tie into the subject of heredity, or direct connections to ancestors, who pass down traits via genes to descendants through DNA exchange during sexual reproduction (meiosis). In the lab activity, DNA will be extracted from strawberries and bananas. Students will learn why DNA extraction from organisms is scientifically important. Students will learn that DNA, as the blueprint for life, is also found in food that they eat. Students should already have a basic understanding of cells and organelles, chromosomes, base pairs of DNA, shape and structure of DNA, and DNA replication.